A Little Bit Mental
by Phantom Splash
Summary: Zuko has do deal with his imprisoned sister who is now suffering from a Multiple Personality Disorder. Can Azula recover from this mental illness, or will it get so bad that she becomes a threat to the nations once again?
1. The End of a Reign

**Well hai there! This is my first ATLA fanfic, I hope it goes well! **

**Yeah, there are quite a few Azula in rehab stories out there, but I felt I needed to add my own version. :D Please review!**

Azula stared at her brother and the water peasant he had befriended. _Figures. Zuzu could never be around someone who has actual importance without being put to shame within the hour. The only people who would actually help him are the filth of the earth. Just like everyone around me. They're all filth. At least Zuzu's dead now. If father got killed by the Avatar, the only person left that's eligible for the throne now is me, and since I know everyone always underestimates me, it shall be quite easy to get back on the throne. All I have to do is convince the Dai Li and Imperial Firebenders that I was testing their loyalty and that they passed, and I'll be back on the throne.  
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And then, to Azula's horror, Peasant covered her hands in water, then pressed them on Zuzu's chest. The was a sudden blue glow, then Zuzu groaned, and eventually stood up and gave Peasant a weak smile. _Stupid little pathetic weaklings. How dare they even challenge me. _Azula lifted up her hands to shoot lightning at the two fools, only to find her hands chained to the grate underneath her.

Azula's mind flashed back to her being chained up by peasant. She had beaten her. _Her. Princess Azula; the girl who hadn't lost a fight since she was ten._ And for that, Azula wanted to strangle herself so she wouldn't have to deal with the humiliation, but she couldn't, because that little filthy water tribe girl had just defeated her and chained her hands to the grate, so now all she could do is struggle against her bonds and scream.

So she screamed.

And screamed.

And cried.

It was over. The Fire Nation had lost, betrayed by its very own prince. _All because father banished Zuzu. If he hadn't have gone after the Avatar himself, the Avatar would be in prison, or maybe even dead forever, and every nation standing against us would be destroyed, and tomorrow we would be celebrating our victory._ And now because her victory, crown, and now previous life had been taken away because of the one slip up she was responsible for in her entire life, Azula howled with anguish, wishing life would just end right then and there for her, wishing that the agony and shame would just go away.

Once she heard Peasant and Zuzu walk over, Azula sat back up on her knees and glared at the dark skinned girl. She waited until they got close enough, smoke trickling from her nostrils in the meantime.

Suddenly, a jet of blue flame erupted from her mouth without warning, knocking little weak Zuzu over and engulfing Peasant in flames. Her enemy suddenly blasted up the water underneath, forcing Azula to stop. She made the water cover herself and Zuzu for a moment to heal all of the burns, then released the water back into the containment chamber underneath Azula. She gave a self-satisfied smirk when she noticed all of the scorch marks on Peasant's drab blue rags.

Peasant glared at Azula and snarled, "You know, the only reason why I haven't killed you is because Zuko and Aang wanted you alive. They think that if Ozai won't talk, you might tell Zuko what happened to Ursa and where she is. But I'm not so optimistic, I know that you won't say a thing to Zuko."

"Damn right, Peasant." Azula growled. "But I'm not so fooled by your whole 'tough girl' act. I know your type. You're the sweet little girl who thinks she's some tough warrior just because she can bring most of her opponents to their knees, and she won't kill because she thinks it's fair to give everyone a second chance, but that's not the real reason why she doesn't kill, no, it's because she's a coward. And that's you, Peasant; a little coward who's too afraid to take someone's life."

Finally, Peasant couldn't take it anymore. She gave a scream of rage and lifted up some of the water underneath and spun an icy shell around Azula, so all she could move was her neck and head.

Azula gave a fake yawn. "Careful, if you try any harder, you might actually scare a mousebird hatchling."

Peasant walked over, bended and ice dagger, and Azula's throat. Some blood trickled down and splashed onto the ice.

"You're wrong," she growled. "I am no coward."

Azula smiled. "Prove it."

Peasant hesitated, but soon decided to go through with it. She was about to start slitting one side of the neck when Zuzu sat up, coughed, and then said, "Katara, don't. Azula's just playing you so she won't have to face he future. She can't kill herself, so she's trying to make you do the job for her." Even weaker than his usual weakling self, Zuzu lay back down onto the ground.

After he said that, Peasant hesitated once again. _Just kill me and be done with it, filth._ But instead of listening to Azula's thoughts, she dropped her dagger, released Azula from her icy container, and backed away so she was out of Azula's fire breathing range.

"ZUZU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I SHOULD HAVE KILLED A TRAITOR LIKE YOU THE MOMENT I SAW YOU IN BA SING SE! I HATE YOU! **I HATE YOU! **I HA-" Azula burst into tears, cutting off her screaming rage.

She halted when she felt a shadow fall on her. She looked up and saw Peasant look down at her. Azula's rage boiled up once more when she realized that the expression on Peasant's face was one of pity. _How insulting_.

"And who are you? Zuzu's little bitch? How fitting, for the Fire Nation's ultimate betrayer to make a filthy, drab waterbending peasant his-"

Katara punched Azula in the face, knocking her out cold.


	2. Heating Things Up

"No, Azula! Don't-" Zuko reached out to stop his sister, but it was too late. Azula held the flame that was in the palm of her hand to her hair, igniting it.

"Bwahaha! What's wrong, Zuzu? I just like to _heat things up_ sometimes!" Azula cackled madly. She dodged the pail of water that was thrown at her, then started running around her spacious cell, laughing like a hyenamonkey the entire time. Zuko finally managed to drench her on his third try, putting out the flames.

As soon as he did that, Azula collapsed and started weeping, she gripped her knees and rocked back and forth. "I'M WET!" She bawled. "I'm so wet… Damn that peasant to hell!" Azula hugged herself. Zuko knew better than to touch or console her. Every time he did, Azula would try to zap him with her lightning. Once he would dodge it, Azula would say, _"What's wrong, Zuzu? Afraid of a few little sparks? You're acting as jumpy as a basset rabbit!" _ And then start laughing shrilly.

"What wrong, Zuzu? Never seen a girl break down before? I suppose not, since you're only around that little betrayer who's—how did you phrase it again? Oh yes, a blob!" Azula snapped.

Zuko clenched his fist in reply. "I'm leaving now." He turned around a started to walk out of the cell.

"Don't hit the door on your way out!" Azula called out, still sitting on the floor.

The guard closed and locked the cell door once Zuko was out of the cell. "Find the barber and tell him that it happened again."

"_Again?_ The princess really needs a new hobby."

"Just do what you're told!" Zuko spun around and snapped at the guard. He was trying to manage his anger better, but today was another one of those days. His sister was going insane and belonged in an asylum, not a prison cell. She needed help, but Aang wouldn't allow her to go outside of the prison anywhere for another four years. _Last time I checked, I was the firelord and had control over the Fire Nation's prisoners, not Aang._

The guard bowed down. "Yes, Firelord Zuko"

_Firelord_. It had been a year since Sozin's Comet, but Zuko still wasn't accustomed to being called that yet. _All my years I daydreamed about being the firelord, and when Uncle Iroh's son died, I was happy that I was now in line to become the firelord, but now after all of the stuff I've been through, and how much work I have to do to try to restore the Fire Nation's honor, I'm not sure I want to be this for the rest of my life. I should be with the soldiers, searching for mother._

**-X—X—X—X—X—X—X—X—X—**

"No, she's not being transferred to an Asylum until her first five years of imprisonment is up." Aang replied. This was the third time Zuko tried to convince him to allow his sister to be transferred, but Aang wouldn't budge.

"Why not?" Zuko demanded, already knowing the exact words Aang would use in reply.

"Don't you remember all she's done? Have you forgotten what your sister is like? She is really sneaky! She still is stubborn so she might try to escape while being transferred! She might even be faking it just so she could be in an asylum so it would be easier to get out! She could restart the war!"

"Yeah? With what funding and army? She doesn't have control over anyone! The only person allowed to visit her right now is her doctor and myself, so it's not like some powerful general could get pulled under her influence! Aang, she's lit her hair on fire, _for the fourth time!_ I know my sister, and she wouldn't go that far to try and convince me that she's mentally unstable when she's actually not!"

"Hmmm… I was told that she has Multiple Personality Disorder. Have you ever met any of the 'other Azulas'?"

"Yes. Three of them, but I only know the name of one."

"And?"

"It's getting worse. I think another one is developing. If we don't rescue her from this madness soon enough, it might just be too late."

"Well… I think about it."

"Aang, if you don't get her out of that place soon enough, I might just have to barge in that prison with an army of firebenders behind me and carry her out myself."

"Is that a threat?"

"Only if you want it to be."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Give me a day to think about it. You should get word of my decision by tomorrow afternoon."

"Fine." Zuko bowed to Aang, who bowed in return.

"And Firelord-"

"Zuko."

Aang sighed. "Fine, _Zuko_, if I say no, then don't bring it up again."

Zuko left the house, which was on the ridge that was up about the palace. He got on the palanquin and waited impatiently to be carried down to the palace. Mai would be there, waiting for him. When he was set back down, he opened the veil and sure enough, there was Mai, with her arms crossed.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Talking to the Avatar."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Trying to get her royal majesty sent to the loony bin again?"

"Yes," Zuko sighed. "Uncle Iroh gave me a second chance even though I didn't deserve it, I feel that I need to at least try to do the same to her."

"That different. You actually have a soul."

"You're too sweet at times."

"I know" Mai gave him a peck on the lips as they walked into the palace's courtyards. It was dusk. Time to start winding down. He sat down on a bench with Mai, gazing at the pink silky cherry blossoms that fell onto the pond, which was reflecting the beautiful sunset. Orange and red was glowing right on top of the ridge, while the few clouds were streaked with gold, pink and lavender. A gentle breeze ruffled the couple's hair. Zuko had an arm around Mai, forgetting about the stressful day. He was now content, and unaware of his little sister, who was lying in her jail cell screaming from pain. The fire was within her, raging through her blood. She needed to release it, but she couldn't. The guards, those heartless guards, always strapped her to her bed at night to prevent any escape attempts.

Azula sobbed. The pain was too much. The guards were gone. The only place they were at night was outside of the prison. "Free me! Please!" She screamed. "Please, it's too much!"

"SHUT UP!" One of the prisoners shouted down the hall.

Azula quieted down, only because she was losing her voice. She cried gently now, trying to ignore the pain, but she couldn't. The night would be sleepless.


	3. Two Words

**Sorry, this chapter is a little bit shorter today. It was either that, or make it twice as long and not as interesting. :/ **

**Sorry if there's any spelling or grammatical errors! Sometimes I miss some even when I re-read a chapter ten times! ):  
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**Reviews are appreciated! :D**

"How is she today?"

"Well, we found her screaming and bawling her eyes out when we came to unstrap her this morning, and then she blasted the wall for about thirty seconds straight, and right after that, she sat down, smiled, and told us that we were dismissed. And since then she's had three arguments with herself."

"So now she's getting schizophrenia?"

The guard shrugged. "Doctor say's that her condition is just worsening. I say she's gone a bit mental. Well, more mental than she was before."

"Thank you, but next time, it'd be nice to just keep your opinion to yourself."

The guard bowed. "Yes, sorry Firelord." He stood up. Zuko waited a few seconds before impatiently saying,

"I would like to see my sister now."

The guard's face turned red with embarrassment. He quickly unlocked and opened the door to let Zuko in, then closed it behind him.

"Well, if it isn't little Zuzu! Zuzu, before you say anything, I have two words: interior design. Honestly, this place is just begging for some decorations, maybe a table and some plush cushions, and how about a WALL AROUND MY WASTE HOLE AND IN THE BATHING ROOMS! I would like to pee in privacy. I swear some of those guards stare at me when I'm less than decent."

"Azula, you're in prison. You don't get luxuries like those."

"Well at least have the guards respect my privacy when I need it. If I were in charge, I would have each of the perverted guards get the flaming sword."

"Azu-"

"Yes, yes. I know. I've been stripped of my title and authority until after twenty years of prison and proving that I'm trustworthy." Azula rolled her eyes, then gave an annoyed flip of the bangs, which was a habit of hers, only to realize that she had no bangs. Azula's eyes widened. Her hands shot up and felt the top of her head, only to find little spikes of hair that were barely two millimeters long. She did the only thing she could think of doing. She screamed.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY HAIR? WHY IS IT SHAVED, ZUZU, **WHY**!"

"You lit your hair on fire, Azula. Again."

"WHAT? No I didn't! The only person I know who is crazy enough to do that is Zuzani!"

"Who's Zuzani?"

"A crazy little bitch." Azula muttered. "She sometimes comes and visits me. Sometimes I black out for a while, sometimes I don't. Sometimes it's her, sometimes it's Zaiyana, sometimes it's Za Yai. Zuzani sometimes does crazy stunts, and usually acts like she doesn't even know how to think and reason. Zaiyana is overly cheery. She's like Ty Lee, except even more annoying and perky, if that's even possible. And Za Yai… well let's just say she's a coward who always lets emotions get the best of her."

A guard suddenly opened the door and came in. He whispered something in Zuko's ear, which made his eyes widen for a moment. After the guard left, Azula spoke up.

"Well?"

"Azula, there's a way for me to help you now."

Azula laughed. "Zuzu, don't be so ridiculous. I don't need any help."

"Now's not the best time to lie, Azula."

Azula sighed. "Fine, what is this thing that so amazing that it will help me?"

"I got permission to transfer you to this asylum. I had it built just special for you. It's close to the palace and has a courtyard with-"

Azula stood up abruptly, making Zuko stop talking. She started to pace the floor slowly.

"Zuzu, have I ever told you that I love you?"

"No." In fact, Zuko couldn't remember a single time when Azula had said a kind word to him and genuinely meant it.

Azula paced the floor some more. "Good," she suddenly spun around and shouted, "BECAUSE I HATE YOU ZUZU! You're sending me to a place where crazy and deranged people live! Why can't you just let me rot here in peace?"

"Because you are mentally ill! Those girls who come to 'visit' you, actually take control of your body and do crazy and strange things! You're being transferred to the asylum in two days, and that's final!" Zuko stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Azula stared at the door, dumbfounded. No one besides Father had ever ordered her around, even in prison, no one told her what to do. This was a new feeling, and Azula didn't like it one bit.


	4. The Tale of Zuzani

"_Zuzani?_ Wasn't that the name of that red panda lemur Azula had when she was eleven?" Mai asked. There was a glint of humor in her eye, which was her version of cracking up.

"Yeah," Zuko chuckled "yeah, it is."

**-Le Flashback-**

Azula stared at the cage containing four extremely rare red panda lemurs. The chittered happily as they chased each other around one of the tall tiger trees, which were known for their striped bark and orange-ish gold leaves. The leader suddenly leaped nimbly from one tree to another about twenty feet away, quickly followed by the other three. Azula giggled, which was probably even rarer than the animals she was watching.

Mai and Ty Lee giggled with her. Zuko just rolled is eyes. He glanced over at Mai, who was enjoying herself for once in her life. Her hair shone in the sunlight. The red bows in her hair were as beautiful and delicate as ever. Zuko soon blushed as he stared at Mai, not noticing the others until Azula started singing _"Zuzu and Mai-ai sittin' in a tree…"_, followed by kissing sounds.

Zuko spun around so he wouldn't have to look at the girls, now hot with embarrassment. "Shut _up_, Azula! And stop calling me that!" He glanced over at Mai, who was both embarrassed and annoyed.

"Ok." Azula said sweetly as their father walked over. It was one of the few days when he wasn't busy with something, so he took the group to the royal zoo, which was Azula's favorite place at the time, mainly because she loved to watch the red panda lemurs. It was also her birthday, so if Zuko objected to going to the smelly place, all he would get in reply was a glare from his father.

"Azula, I would like to give you your birthday present now." Ozai said. He motioned for the zoo's manager to come over. He unlocked the cage, walked in, and caught the prettiest one. He put a fancy collar and leash on it, then walked out and handed Azula the leash to her new pet.

"I had a trainer start to come a few months ago and break in the red panda lemur, so now she is prepared for the life of a pet. Happy birthday, Azula." Ozai smiled when Azula's face lit up with joy. She hugged him tightly and said,

"Thank you so much, dad! I love her!"

_-SIX DAYS LATER-_

"Ugh, Zuzani is soo annoying! All she wants to do is play, play, play. I try to put her on my lap, and she starts to run around my room like a crazy person! She's already broken a few lamps and a painting. Well, not that I really care about them, but still!" Azula complained.

"It's ok, I think she just needs some time adjusting to a life where she's mainly indoors." Ty Lee replied while petting Zuzani on the head, who was trilling happily in reply. The only way to get her to be calm was to have her outside.

They sat there, staring at Zuzani for a while, until Mai finally spoke up. "It's almost sunset, time for us to be going home."

"Oh, will you guys come back tomorrow?"

"Sorry, Azula. I have gymnastics tomorrow."

"Yeah, and I'm supposed to go visit this one stupid place with my parents for a week. Sorry."

"Oh," Azula said disappointedly "ok."

After the girls left, Azula carried Zuzani to her room. As usual, Zuzani started to go crazy again. Azula managed to catch her pet and the held the wriggling red panda lemur calmly.

"OW!" She released Zuzani and looked at the bite mark on her arm. Blood started to well up. She glared venomously at Zuzani, who was now on top of a shelf that was currently empty. The red panda lemur seemed to trill out a huge apology, but Azula ignored it. She clenched her fist in anger, making some lightning shoot out on accident. An idea came to her head and Azula smirked evilly, making Zuzani huddle on a corner of the shelf in fear.

She clenched all but her index and middle finger into a fist with both hands and started doing an intricate design with her lightning. Zuzani screeched with terror. Azula then put her fingers together, creating a huge bolt of lightning that was a direct hit. Zuzani, who was now fried, fell off of the shelf. Azula soon realized what she had done. She burst into tears, unaware of Zuko, who was watching her in the doorway.

**Hey, I'm gonna be gone for a few days, so don't expect an update until then! :)**


	5. The Asylum

**Hey guys, I'm soo sorry that I haven't been able to update until now! No, I didn't forget, I just didn't have time to write and when I did have time to write, I was at my family's cabin, which sadly has no internet D:**

**The good news is is that I have chapter six and seven written and I'm currently working on eight :D**

**Oh, and I would like to thank Black Diamond07 and MistressPinkiePie reviewing! They are much appreciated :)**

Azula stared at the wall, not wanting to think. It was a week since she had been sent to the asylum, and she had to admit, Zuzu does know how to spoil his war prisoners. Her main room was almost the size of her room at the palace, and quite nice for a room in an asylum. There was a large tapestry on one wall that was of the first Agni Kai. Azula loved staring at the picture of the heated battle. It seemed as if the picture never got old, there were just so many details to look at and study.

The tale of the battle is very famous Fire Nation ancient history-it was so old that many said it was just legend and nothing else. Azula tried hard to remember what it was about, but it was like trying to pull open a rolled up tigerdillo; You knew the basic aspects of the inside, but no matter how hard you tried, you would never be able to find out what it exactly looks like; the exact color of the fur, how many stripes, how tall, the gender… All of it would remain a mystery. She knew that she knew, but the memory was so vague that all she could remember was what was already on the tapestry. _Damn meds. _The nurses came in once a day to give her her medications, and Azula soon figured out that one of the side effects was drowsiness, which caused some memories to just be a blur.

At first, she tried to avoid taking the nasty stuff, but she soon found out that no matter how nice the nurse was, he wouldn't take no for an answer. One day Azula tried to shoot him full of lightning, but found out a moment later that he was a waterbender (and she figured out later while going to lunch that all of the staff were benders, and at least half of them were waterbenders) when he covered her hands with a thick layer of water, causing Azula to shock herself (which, by the way, hurts like hell!). After that, he pinned her to the ground by bending thick blocks of ice around her ankles, wrists, and neck. _So that's why they have that waterfall in my room and another one in the dining hall and the garden area._ He said in a stern tone (but not menacing), "Now, miss, we can do this my way, or the high way, but no matter what, you _are_ taking this. We have direct orders from Firelord Zuko to help you recover, no matter what." And that was that.

After the memory of that finished playing through Azula's mind, she realized she was getting off topic of what she was thinking about. _Yeah, it was the first firebender dukin' it out with a dragon, but why? What were their names? Come on brain, why are you so useless now? UGH!_ Smoke erupted from Azula's nostrils. _Why do they give me stuff that temporarily makes me forget things! Stuff that I could recall easily a week ago is now so elusive!_

She looked around her room and studied all of the things in her room for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. On the left wall, there was the tapestry of the first Agni Kai, and below it was a glossy black table that had a red paper lantern with an intricate gold design. Next to the lantern, there was paper and ink and a weird squishy thingy that was called a "stress ball". _Such a stupid name. Since when does making your hand cramp up relieve stress?_ On the back wall there was a huge window, which had a metal grate on it, of course. It overlooked the huge exotic gardens that surrounded the asylum, and in the distance, Azula could see the palace. She was on the top story of the building, so she could "Have the best view of the Fire Nation's capital", as Zuzu said. She wasn't stupid; she knew it was so it would be harder for her to escape. Azula walked over to the window, knelt on the bed that was below the window, and tapped on the glass, just to feel the strange material once more. Over the past year, the way of making glass was finally perfected, so it was far stronger than it once had been. She had just discovered that three days ago, when she had punched through the glass that was placed in all of the metal grids. After that, she had hoped to heat up the metal enough so it would bend easier, but the crash was much louder than she had expected, so a nurse came rushing in a moment later to discover Azula clutching her bleeding hand. Quite a few glass shards were sticking out of her knuckles. Her eyes welled up with tears. Next time she would have to melt the glass if she were to ever escape.

She turned around and looked at the right wall. On it was a bunch of small paintings of jasmine flowers and blossoms put together to form a small square grid. _That was most likely Uncle's idea. _Azula rolled her eyes. About ten feet below it was a short, cascading waterfall that came out of the wall. It fell into a lovely koi pond that had all kinds of pretty koi fish swimming around. There were rocks surrounding the pond, but Azula soon discovered that that was not where the pond ended. In fact, there were a few water tunnels underneath her floor, and in various places around her room, there were spots where the metal floor suddenly turned to glass to reveal the koi fish swimming calmly underneath. Then there was the doorway (the one which wasn't the entrance). The nice part was the personal bathing room, which was behind another door in the hallway behind that door, but down at the end of the hall was the room that creeped Azula out. After a blackout, she would often wake up to find herself in the room, wearing a jacket that made it impossible for her to move her arms. The room was all white, slightly cushy, and completely seamless. She could hardly see the door's outline. There was no fire in the room for her to control, and breathing fire didn't help her either. Instead, the room was lit by these strange white crystals with a creepy glow. The place was pure evil.

Thankfully, the longest she's ever stayed in that loathsome room was five hours, but she heard that others lived in rooms like that twenty-four seven. She mentally shuddered at the thought of it.

The door opened slowly. Azula decided to ignore whomever was coming in by getting in a meditating position and closed her eyes. It was just probably another nurse checking on her to make sure she hadn't lit her hair on fire. Idiots. She _told_ them that Zuzani didn't find that fun anymore. Instead, she liked shooting little bolts of lightning into the koi pond and watching the fish freak out from the electricity that jolted them for a few seconds.

"Azula?" It was Zuzu. She hadn't even seen him since he shouted at her and stormed of.

"Awww, if it isn't my favorite little brother, mister Firelord Zuzu?" Azula opened her eyes and sneered with fake affection. _Traitor. I wish Zuzani found it more amusing to burn _his _hair to a crisp._ At the thought of that, she thought of her own poor hair. Right now it was only an inch long and no hairstyle that she tried looked good on her.

"I'm your only brother, I'm older than you, and please stop calling me Zuzu."

"How do you know that, little Zuzu? There might be a little brother that father decided to kill off because he saw you in him and didn't want _another_ weakling son. There's a lot of secrets in this family that you don't know. Like how grandfather Azulon died, why you were actually banished, the real reason why the siege of Ba Sing Se was a failure, _what happened to mother…_"

Zuko's anger finally built up enough so he couldn't contain his fire. With an angry shout, he threw his fists up in the air, then threw them back down, making two bursts of flames shoot down onto the floor for a second. "ENOUGH!" he bellowed.

Azula waited a moment, then started doing a theater-clap. "Very nice, O great Firelord Zuko. Quite dramatic and angry, but to really put the fury in the fire and show the cold hearted side of you that _we all_ know you still have, I suggest you get blue flames, if that's even possible for you. Like so…" She abruptly leaped off of her bed and landed lightly on the floor a few feet away. With a scream of rage, she threw her fists up in the air, then slammed them back to where they originally were, creating a burst of blue flame that was slightly bigger and faster than Zuko's . She stood up, smiled, then sat back down on her bed. "That felt really good. Whenever I firebend, the 'nurses' come in, strap me up in that awful coat, then put me in that horrible white room."

"Azula, I didn't come here to talk, I came here to tell you that I'll be gone in the Earth Kingdom for a month. In the meantime, I persuaded Uncle to have someone else run the tea shop for that amount of time and he'll come to visit you daily."

"WHAT? Zuko, you can't-"

"I can, and I will. I hope you learn a little bit from him. Just do me a favor and listen to him with an open mind. Contrary to previous popular belief, he really does know what he's doing and what he's talking about."

"Why should I?" _And since when did the popular belief become "previous"?_ Azula crossed her arms. Zuko could've sworn that she was about to stick her tongue out at him.

"One, because I'm your brother; two, because I'm now your superior; and three, because almost everyone else in the whole world thought you should rot in jail, while I wasn't sure what to do until Uncle came along and convinced me to give you another chance. He is the reason why you currently aren't in a total isolation cell that was ten times worse than your previous cell."

Azula sat there pondering the situation for about a minute. "No." She decided.

"What?"

"I'm not going to be driven even more crazy by that crazy old gasbag going on about stupid tea and cakes. The moment he enters this room, I'll blast him all the way to Ember Island."

"Katara and Avatar Aang will be in town until the next week. I could always talk Katara into staying longer and visiting with you _every_. _day_. For a _whole month_. It'll probably be really fun, especially for a person living next to a koi pond with _lot _and _lots _of water in it. Oh, and by the way, Katara never forgets, and she rarely _ever_ forgives. I can say that with firsthand experience." Zuko turned around and started to leave, when Azula stood up and grumbled,

"Fine, I'll be nice to Uncle."

Zuko smirked for a moment, then turned around and said, "What did you say?"

"I said I'll try to be nice to Uncle." Azula huffed.

"_Try?_"

Azula held back to urge to jump onto her brother and start kicking the snot out of him. "I SAID I'LL BE NICE TO UNCLE!"

Zuko smiled. "Good." He then left, closing the door behind him.

**Please Review! :3**


	6. Sunrise

**A/N: So just an explanation on why I call Katara "Peasant" is because this is Azula's side of the story, and I would think that instead of bothering to remember Katara's name, she would just label her as "Peasant" in her mind. Just lettin ya guys know, in case you were wondering! ;)**

**Oh, and P.S.- REVIEW! I love it when people review! :D  
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Azula was taking a shower. The waterbending nurses had created a way so they just took hot water from a tub, held it three feet above her (she was behind a divider, of course, otherwise she would refuse to take showers. The only thing Azula had left in this place was her modesty and pride, and she would refuse to give those up no matter what), then made the water constantly spray down.

She sighed with happiness. Showers were sometimes much better than baths, but the water was a bit mistier than it should usually be.

"Um, excuse me? Could you pressurize the water a bit more? I can't even feel the massage bit that much."

"I'm sorry, miss! Here, one second…" Azula's eyes widened and pupils contracted when she recognized the Peasant's voice.

"Is this hard enough _now?_" Peasant hissed angrily. Azula looked up to see the water that was coming down suddenly turn into ice spikes and continued their decent. Azula flinched, preparing to be speared through, but that moment never came. She woke up gasping, instead. It was funny how dreams would always kill you, but they would never let you experience the death part, as if the feeling of death was a secret that no one would dare tell.

She looked out the window to see that the sunlight lit up the horizon. She watched until the sun finally peaked up over the horizon. Like all firebenders, she could finally feel more strength seeping into her bones. It was a wonderful feeling to be awake during a sunrise.

"It is wonderful, isn't it? Anyone can watch the beauty of a sunrise, but only firebenders can truly _feel_ it." Azula jolted, surprised that Uncle was behind her. By the sound of his voice, he was standing in front of the door. _How long had he been there, just watching me? That is a bit creepy._

"You're early. Zuzu usually doesn't visit me until the afternoon or evening." Azula finally said. She tried hard to not bite Uncle's head off for not announcing himself the moment he came in. She told Zuzu that she would be nice, and this time she decided to _not_ lie, just to see what it felt like to be honest. And frankly, it was quite annoying.

"Yes, but unlike Zuko, I don't have four nations needing to be rebuilt."

"Four? But the air nomads became extinct over a hundred years ago! Well, except for the Avatar, of course." It was bit ironic, because the one person that Firelord Sozin wanted to kill during the attack against air nomads was the only person who survived.

"Ah, yes, one would think. But quite a few of us have a hunch that not all of the air nomads were wiped out. We have people searching all over the world, trying to find any who have managed to survive living in hiding for the past century. Plus, some of the temples have taken severe damage, and they are being rebuilt to their former glory."

"How long have you been here?"

"Only a short while. When I came in, you were watching the sunrise, and I decided to not disturb you until the sun was up." He walked over and sat on the rocks by the koi pond. "Hmmm, a koi pond, a symbol of peace and serenity. Did you know that the moon and ocean spirits became koi fish?"

Azula mentally rolled her eyes, but she said as politely as she could, "No, I didn't."

"Yes, they live up in the Northern Water Tribe. When Admiral Zhao tried to lay siege on them, he found out where their pond was and killed the moon spirit. He thought it was the way to destroy only the water tribes, but he was wrong. It would have eventually destroyed the balance of life, and like the ocean spirit, everything would fall into chaos."

Azula sighed. _How long is this crazy old man going to stay here and blather on about koi fish? Why can't these people just leave me alone?_ "Well, if Zhao really _had _destroyed the moon spirit, then why is there still a moon in the sky? Wouldn't it be gone?"

"Yes, the moon was gone for only a few minutes, making the waterbenders as powerless as we were during the solar eclipse. But what Zhao did not know was that the princess there had once been healed by the moon spirit when she was just a newborn. To heal the moon spirit, she gave it her energy, which gave the water tribe back their power. But before that happened, Zhao truly did not know what he was getting into. By killing the moon, he had sparked the anger of the Avatar. The only firebenders who survived his wrath was only your brother and me. We had to float our way to the Earth Kingdom on nothing but a small raft with a makeshift sail."

"Very interesting, Uncle. Oh, and just to let you know, Zuzu usually stays half as long as you do." Azula lied. Usually Zuzu stayed twice as long, but he didn't usually create conversation, he just let Azula talk about whatever she liked, which, as much as Azula hated to admit, she was starting to miss already.

"No, he doesn't." Uncle called her bluff. _Damn._ "I talked to Zuko, and he told me some information I should know. But, since I can tell that you are irritated with me already, I will leave." He got up, then walked out of the room.

"Ugh, finally. I thought he would never leave." Azula looked up to see Zuzani. She slightly resembled her, but she was eleven, had her hair up in a bun with half of the hair spilling out overtop that made it look like a fountain, and she was one of the most psychotic people she had ever met. On her shoulder was a red panda lemur, but it would always morph into a dragon right before Azula blacked out. At first she thought they were ridiculous, but once they seemed to become more and more real, she was slightly afraid of them.

"Go away!" Azula shouted.

Zuzani smirked. "Why? We've been gone for quite awhile. Don't you miss us?" she said smugly. She walked over to the koi pond and sat down. Her red panda lemur jumped into the water. He suddenly went under and then came back up with a red and white koi fish wriggling in his mouth. Zuzani grabbed it and delicately held it in her hands. "That's a nice one, Mizhu." She inspected the koi fish for a moment, then suddenly zapped it with her lightning, causing it to go limp after being jolted. As soon as she tossed the dead one in the pond, Mizhu came back with another one in his mouth. This one was orange, black, and white. Zuzani picked it up and inspected it, just like she did with the other one.

"No, don't…" Azula finally managed to say. Besides the tapestry, the koi pond was her favorite thing in the room. The last thing she wanted was a bunch of dead fish floating around.

"Why not?" She held the koi fish tightly in one hand. "I wonder what it felt like to be Admiral Zhao. To hold the spirit of the moon in your hand, and to change it's fate, and the fate of the whole water tribe in a single. Flash." With her last word, she squeezed the koi fish tightly and zapped it with her lightning, making the koi fish explode, spraying everything in a two meter radius with its flesh. Zuzani cackled.

"STOP IT!" Azula screamed.

"No." Zuzani grabbed another koi fish from her pet.

"Stop it, Zuzani. _Now_." Azula was surprised to hear Zaiyana on the other side of the room. Her head shot to where the sound came from to see her sitting at the table. Zaiyana was twelve and had a slightly round face and a wide-set frame (she wasn't fat, mind you). Her black hair was pulled into two high buns, one on each side of the back of her head. Her amber eyes glared at Zuzani, daring her to zap another koi fish. They stared at each other for what seemed to be hours.

Finally, Zuzani dropped the fish back into the pond. "Let's get out of here, Mizhu." Mizhu transformed into a dragon and Zuzani jumped onto his back. He shot upwards towards the ceiling. _He's going to crash._ Azula thought to herself. But she didn't find out what happened, because the moment before impact, she blacked out.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Wake up, Azula." Zaiyana said sweetly. Azula groaned. Her eyelids seemed as if they weighed as much as a fire nation rhino. After she managed to keep them open, she saw that she was laying down on her bed. Zaiyana was sitting on a chair next to the bed, a worried expression covered her face. "Are you ok?"

"Umm.. yeah." This was strange. Zaiyana had never spoken to her before. Usually there would be a haunted look on her face and she would float over to her and reach out to her with a hand, and then Azula would black out. Not until recently would she even smile at her.

"That's good! It's ok, Zuzani's gone now. Hey, did you ever learn that one lightning move?"

_That was random._ "Which one? I know over fifty different ones."

"You know, _the one you accidentally killed me with?_"


	7. The Tale of Zaiyana

-Le Flashback-

"Dad, You can't do this! Mai and Ty Lee are my best friends!" Azula shouted angrily.

"And they are being a distraction. I know you can do better than what you are currently doing, Azula. Without them, you will do better in your schooling _and _your firebending lessons." Ozai replied. He frowned, unhappy with the way his daughter was acting.

It was her twelfth birthday, a week before school started, and ever since Mom was banished (and Zuko, too, but father never cared about him much), Dad was much grumpier than he used to be.

"But… Last year I was two years ahead Zuko in schooling and I was six levels ahead of him in firebending!"

Ozai stood up in anger. The fire that surrounded his throne suddenly flared up. Azula immediately bent her head down in submissiveness. "DO NOT SPEAK OF ZUKO IN THIS ROOM! HE WAS A _FAILURE_! HOW DARE YOU COMPARE YOURSELF TO A FAILURE!"

"Yes, father."

Ozai sat back down. "Now, you _are_ going to the other academy."

"Yes, father."

"You are dismissed."

"Yes, father." Azula kept her head bowed as she stood up and backed out the throne room. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she turned around and ran all the way to her room. As soon as her face hit the pillow on her bed, she started sobbing. Out of fear or sadness, she was not sure, but the emotion she felt was too much to contain.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Azula slowly shuffled out of the schoolhouse and towards the general direction of the boarding house. Her room was the one that was way on the top of the building, which was just recently built special for her. It was the end of her first day, and since Azula told the teachers to not tell anyone that she was royalty (because she didn't want a bunch of stupid kids swarming around her day and night), no one had even recognized her as the princess. It was strange, to not be in everyone's spotlight because of who you were.

"HEY! HEY YOU!" A girl called from behind. Since there currently was no one around Azula, she turned around to see a girl about her age run up to her. "Hey, you're Princess Azula, aren't you?"

"Yeah, how could you tell?"

"One, I know the sister of the banished Prince's name is Azula. Two, I can tell you're not from around here. And three, when you walk, you carry yourself like royalty. It's pretty easy to figure everything out once you put the pieces together."

"Ok… Good for you, you figured out who I am. Now leave me alone." Azula turned around and started walking towards the boarding house again.

The girl ignored Azula's last sentence and quickly followed after her. "So I heard that you're a firebending prodigy, that you're only a year or less away from becoming a master, and that it usually takes people twenty years or more to master fire, and that is only when they drill themselves very hard and do intensive training"

Azula rolled her eyes. This girl was starting to get on her nerves, and the way that she talked so fast wasn't helping, either. "Yes, you are correct."

"That's so awesome! Can you show me some moves?"

Azula sighed. She probably wouldn't get this girl off of her back unless she did, so she said, "Sure," which resulted with a squeal of delight from the girl.

She squatted in a steady firebending stance. Suddenly, she jumped high up and kicked the air with both of her feet, making two jets of red-yellow flames come out and propel herself a bit backwards. She landed on her hands, lifted one up to do a 180, then did two backflips, shooting out fire from her feet and hands when they weren't touching the ground. A moment after she was back in her normal bending stance. She punched the air with her right fist, and the her left, creating two separate, exceptionally large fire blasts. After that, she took a deep breath, and then held her hands so that only her index and middle finger was sticking out her fists. She held her right hand a bit above her head, and the left right in the middle of her belly. She then created lightning as her hands slowly went in a counter-clockwise direction until they were exactly horizontal from each other, then brought them together and suddenly shot her hands upwards, making a huge bolt shoot up at the sky. She put her hands back to her sides, then brought her arms back up so they were almost parallel to the ground and slightly bent. She continuously twisted her wrists so her fingers were going in a circular motion, creating two long streams of lightning that kind of looked like two bright blue, extremely dangerous ribbons. Suddenly, a stray petal drifting in the wind caught Azula's eyes. With one final large circle that involved her moving her whole arm, she pointed her fingers at the petal, but she had them pointed so the lightning would meet right at the petal, which it did. The petal quickly turned into ash and slowly drifted to the ground. With a final, uniform fireblast at the ground, Azula propelled herself up in the air and did a backflip, landing a foot to the right of the girl, who was staring with awe in her eyes.

"WOW, that was amazing! I haven't even seen some of those moves before!"

Azula smiled with pride. "Probably because I created some of them."

The girl's already wide eyes got wider. "Really? Wow, you're like, at least eight years ahead of every other firebender your age, and you're also creating your own firebending moves! I can't believe I know the girl who will probably be the best firebender ever and also future firelord!"

"Well, my brother Zuko is older than me, but he'll never regain his honor and birthright unless he finds the Avatar and brings him back home. But, since the Avatar hasn't been seen in over a hundred years, yeah, I guess you could say I'm next in line to be the firelord."

The girl almost burst with giddiness. She followed Azula into the building. "So, that room that was built on the top of the building was for you, right?"

"Yeah, Where's your room?"

"A floor lower that yours."

Azula nearly screamed with frustration. The building was around eighteen stories tall. She'd be stuck with the girl almost the entire time. Time for a conversation she didn't want to have.

"So, what's your name?"

"Zaiyana."

"Where are you from?"

"Same place as you."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "You live in the palace?"

Zaiyana giggled. "No, I live in the same city as you. I'm a few blocks away from the palace."

"Oh. Are you a bender?"

"Yes, but my parents say that I can't take lessons until I complete my schooling, so I try really hard in school so I can finish faster so I can practice stuff other than the basics."

"Oh." Azula wasn't sure if she'd regret what she wanted to say next. If she didn't hold her tongue, then she and the girl would soon become "friends", and she wasn't so sure if she wanted that. But then again, if she didn't speak up, she probably wouldn't have anything to do once school and lessons were over, and without Mai or Ty Lee, she would have no one to talk to. Plus, this girl figured out who she was without being told, just like Mai and Ty Lee. Well, Ty Lee didn't really figure it out, though. She lived quite close to the palace and when she was younger, she would climb to the top of her roof to get away from her siblings and watch Azula play or train in the palace courtyard and daydream about that being her. Once she saw Azula at her school, she immediately identified her as the girl she wished she could be. Finally making up her mind, Azula said, "You can come with me and watch me train, if you want. Afterwards, I could teach you some stuff so you're better prepared for your lessons in the future."

"Really? Azula, I would love to! Or," the girl suddenly lowered her head in embarrassment "should I call you Princess Azula?"

"Azula is fine." That's what Mai and Ty Lee called her, and since she figured this girl will probably be her friend for the rest of the school year, she may as well call her that, too.

Zaiyana seemed to practically bounce as they climbed the long flight of stairs. "Wow, this day couldn't have gotten any better!" She grinned happily. The joy that she had seemed to spread a little bit, because when Azula looked over her shoulder, then turned her head back, she had a small smile on her face, too. If only it didn't seem so evil.

"Well, here's my stop. I'll see you tomorrow at school!" Zaiyana opened to door and walked down the hallway until she reached her door, then opened it, and was out of sight.

_Well, this day was nice. If only she was a little less cheery, I don't need two Ty Lee's in my life._ Azula walked up to her room, which, instead of being clustered with small dorms like everyone else's, her room took up the whole story of the building. There was even a little koi pond in the middle of the room. _Ten thousand gold pieces on that when Zaiyana comes up here, she'll be obsessed over the koi pond._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The days quickly went by, and before she knew it, two months of school had passed by. Wherever Azula was, Zaiyana was, too. It was annoying at first, but soon Azula had come to like having the constant company.

After Zaiyana got over the "I'm so happy because I'm friend with the future Firelord" phase, she turned out to be as trusty and loyal as an Eelhound. Since Azula knew she would only know her for a year, she would tell her all of her thoughts of the school, of royal life, and even talked about her family. Zaiyana would listen, and often agree wholeheartedly with Azula.

Unfortunately, though, when it came to firebending, Zaiyana was a slow learner, which frustrated Azula so much. Everything about firebending came easy to her, so when Zaiyana couldn't even get a simple version of the fire whip down, she felt like screaming with anger and frustration. But Zaiyana would always figure it out, usually right before Azula would start threatening her. While for Azula, she had mastered five brand new moves, and finished mastering three others that she was learning before school started. Now that fire was almost completely mastered (except for about two or three moves), it was time to start working more on lightning, which was far more difficult to get perfect.

Zaiyana had come to watch, as usual. Today all Azula would focus on was a new lightning move. It involved switching lightning with her hands until it became powerful enough that once combined, it would destroy the ten foot tall and five foot thick boulder in front of her. It was definitely difficult to switch lightning between hands without accidentally creating an explosion that sent Azula hurtling twenty feet back. After her tenth try, Azula angrily punched the air, putting as much force into her fire as she could, when suddenly, the fire turned _blue?_ Azula blinked with shock. She looked over to her instructor and her friend, who were both staring at her in shock and awe. She punched the air again. Once more, her fire came out blue. Wow. A blue firebender was as rare as… Azula couldn't even think of something as rare as a blue firebender. The last blue firebender lived about five centuries ago. She looked at the two people again, who seemed to have not moved at all. Azula sighed with frustration. "Hello? Lesson's not done yet."

She tried doing the move once again, but it was hard to concentrate on it. _Wow, blue fire! Dad will be so proud! Maybe he'll send me back to my old school, but then I won't get to see-_

"AZULA! STOP!" Her instructor shouted. Once Azula realized what was going on, two large bolts flashed out of her fingers, one of them hit the wall a hundred feet away, but the other rushed towards Zaiyana, who stared at the blue bolt in fear. She looked up at Azula and reached out her hand. Her mouth opened as she prepared to scream, but the sound never came. The lightning had struck her right in the heart.

Both Azula and the instructor rushed over to find her body burnt and the wound smouldering. The instructor checked her pulse. "She's gone." He concluded when he got up. Azula stared at what she had done. Right now was not the time to get emotional. The guy was undoubtedly picked out by Dad so he would report to him honestly on how Azula's progress was. Dad would most definitely learn what happened in less than a day. Time to give him a message and whip up a story for Zaiyana's parents that made it sound like she didn't kill a harmless student.

"Well? Don't just stand there! I knew Father shouldn't have sent me to this school. With Mai and Ty Lee, they knew when to duck when something went wrong. But this girl, she would just get in the way most of the time. I'm surprised she lived this long watching me practice.

"The first thing you need to do is carry her up to her room. Then you must set her room on fire. Tell her parents that it was an accident most likely caused by firebending. Make it so it's convincing. Also, I was here practicing when it happened and she didn't come today because she said she was feeling unwell. If anyone sees you or says differently, convince them that our story is the truth, the price doesn't matter. That is all." Azula sat down on the ground, waiting for the man to follow her orders. The man stared at her in shock, as if he wasn't expecting Azula to be so heartless about the situation. _Well, to survive in my family without being betrayed, banished, or killed, you need to have the attitude of a stone-cold killer._

As her father would always say, _"Emotions loses the war, while fearlessness is what wins it". _Azula looked up to still see the man unsure of what he should do. "Well? We don't pay you to stand around and act like a gaping fish. Are you going to obey me, or will you show that you are actually disloyal to the throne? I strongly suggest option one, because otherwise, imprisonment will seem like a _reward_."

The man nodded, picked up Zaiyana's body, and quickly trotted towards the boarding house. After he was gone, Azula just sat there, a silhouette in the sunset. The gentle breeze carried her bangs over her eyes, but once they resumed their normal position, a tear was slowly trickling out of her right eye, but that was the only emotion she would ever release over that matter. Emotions were a weakness. She could never let people think she was weak, because she wasn't, and she would do whatever she needed to do to prove that to the world. She _will_ be firelord one day, and once she was, she would make the Fire Nation stronger than ever. Once she was ruler, not even the Avatar could stop the Fire Nation. If he were still even alive, that is.

**A/N: I noticed in Zuko's flashback of Firelord Azulon, Azula had regular fire when showing off. Either it was a mistake by the animators, or it was done on purpose**. **I think that maybe blue fire wasn't something that a firebender was born with, but actually developed. Maybe blue fire was so uncommon because a firebender can't develop it after maturing? I don't know, I think it would be quite interesting to find out about.**


	8. Miss Bei Fong, Expert Ceiling Repairsman

**Daaang, has it really been four months since my last update? Wow, I feel really bad, so to make it up to ya I've decided to introduce Toph! Yup, I hope Azula doesn't tick her off too much, since her cell is made out of metal *shifty eyes* hehehe. :D**

**Well, here's the new chapter! Please Review! :)**

Azula sleepily opened her eyes. Once she noticed that all there was was white, they shot all the way open as she immediately sat up. Her arms were restrained, as usual. She quickly scooted back to a corner and balled herself up. What the hell happened? She could hardly remember anything before she came to the asylum now. She remembered Father, the Avatar, and Peasant, little Zuzu, and Uncle, but that was all. What the hell is wrong with me? They said this place would help, but now I think it's doing nothing but making me get worse.

The door opened about an hour later and Uncle came in. "Azula, I heard that you had blasted yourself up to the ceiling and had actually broken through it. How did you even manage to do that? It's four inch thick metal."

"You would not believe me, Uncle."

"I've seen the Avatar captured by my own nephew when I thought that looking for him was a thing only a fool would do, I watched a full moon completely vanish from the sky when the sun was hours away from rising, I met and served a blind girl tea on a side of a road while being a refugee and later found out that she was the one who taught the Avatar, the boy we'd been searching for three long years, earthbending and helped him greatly on his journey to defeating my brother, and that's only a few of the things I've witnessed. Trust me Azula, after all I've been through in my life, it is hard to come up with anything for me to disbelieve."

Azula sighed. Was it impossible for Uncle to get straight to the point on anything? "Well, there's three girls that I often see, and they're all quite different."

"Yes, Zuko told me about that before he left. Three girls that take over you and control your body against your will."

"Well, one of them has a pet red panda lemur that can transform into a dragon. She was killing koi fish in the pond when another girl ordered her to stop. She decided to leave after her pet transformed into a dragon and I saw them about to fly though the ceiling, so maybe I…" She cut herself off. Now she was starting to sound like a lunatic.

"If you're saying that you transformed into a dragon, then you're definitely crazy."

Azula would have facepalmed herself if she could've moved her arms. "No, I don't know! I can't remember anything! I don't even remember Zuzu's real name! Why do I call him Zuzu? Why does the Avatar have blue arrows on himself? ARGH, WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER ANYTHING?"

The room was silent for a moment, then Uncle said, "His name is Zuko. You called him by that nickname once when you were four, and since it irritated him so much, you've been calling him that ever since. The Avatar has blue arrows because he is an Air Nomad, and once one has mastered the air element, they are given the blue tattoos to show their accomplishment. And I do not know why you don't remember, I will talk to the nurses once I leave, but first, let's get you out of that." He unstrapped her and pulled the jacket off. He led her out of the room and back into the other one.

As soon as they had gotten to her main chamber, Azula looked up and gasped. The ceiling was completely intact, and there wasn't so much as a seam to show where she had broken through. "How…"

"When I came over to visit the Fire Nation, I brought a friend along with me." A short, blind girl garbed in a flowing silk dress that was light green and cream in color stepped out from behind Azula's cherrywood divider. Her ebony hair was styled in a high poof behind her headband that matched the green in her dress. There was something very familiar about this girl, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "You remember Toph Bei Fong, don't you?"

"Bei… Bei Fong?" She stuttered uncertainly. The Bei Fong family… Weren't they one of those families that had prospered greatly during the war because they secretly helped sponsor the Fire Nation? She knew that much, but she had never met any individual members. She looked up to see Toph walk steadily towards the koi pond. Did she not realize where she was going? Azula quickly ran over to Toph to stop her from tripping on the rocks and falling into the pond. "Don-" Toph shoved her hand into the air right in front of Azula's face.

"I know where I'm going, Fire Fingers! Honestly, if I had a copper piece for every time someone treated me like a helpless little girl…" Her commanding tone made Azula stop in her steps. After a moment, Azula's fiery nature returned to her.

"Well, where were you going, little girl?" It wasn't the best insult, but she couldn't come up with something more creative on the spot.

A deep scowl darkened Toph's face. "Little girl? I did not just spend an hour this morning fixing your stupid ceiling to get called little girl by an ungrateful, tyrannical, spoiled lady like you! And just to let you know, I was going to sit down by the Koi Pond! I didn't know that was such a crime!" She sat down by the koi pond with enough emphasis that the rocks around her went flying a foot up in the air before landing on the ground with a huge THUD that vibrated the room.

"I'm glad you two have bonded so quickly." Iroh smiled.

"Oh, shut up, Uncle! I didn't even want you to come."

"Then why did you?"

"Because it was a choice between you or Peasant." Azula muttered.

"Peasant? Who the heck is Peasant?" Toph asked.

"She means Katara, but she refuses to call her by her actual name."

"Wait, so you mean that Zuko had threatened to stick you with SUGAR QUEEN for a month?" Toph roared with laughter. "Wow, when Zuko told me that he had to threaten you to agree to having Uncle visit for a month, I though he had told you that he would send that creepy assassin dude, or King Bumi, or some other wacko, but all he had to threaten you with was little Sugar Queen?" She wiped a tear from her eye.

"Well, I must leave now. I hope you have a good afternoon with Toph, I won't be back until this evening."

Both of the girls' heads spun around to Uncle and stared at him in disbelief. "What?" Toph whined "I agreed to fixing a metal ceiling, not spending four hours with this snooty little brat!"

"Uncle, why do you think I need to spend so much time with her? I'm fine on my own! And where are you going anyway?"

"I've been called to help hunt down some people who are attempting to sabotage this new age for the Fire Nation and bring back the old war."

"Then why can't I come? You could just give me a description of the person's outline and I can speed up the search! I'm not some dumb babysitter." Toph folded her arms angrily.

"If you come along, you will stick out easily because you do not look like someone who lives in the Fire Nation, much less an official who could be possibly sided with the resistance."

"It's not like you're someone who can easily blend into the shadows either, Uncle. I don't think anyone who has a decent education would not know what you look like."

"Ah, yes, but that is was disguises are for, Azula."

Toph blew her bangs out of her eyes angrily. "It's still not fair, I'm a fighter; it's what I do best, but now you're treating me like one of those stupid nurses."

"It is not safe, I do not want you to be harmed in any way while you are under my family's hospitality. These men are some of the most powerful firebenders and they may have traps that can easily ensnare one who's senses are not alert or is missing one, such as vision."

Toph blew at her bangs angrily once more, but said nothing.

Uncle smiled. "Good, I hope you two will have bonded when I come back." He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Azula scoffed angrily and muttered under her breath, "Yeah, like I'd even _want_ to get along with Dustyfoot."

"I heard that…"


	9. Good Quality Time

**Sorry for the wait! please review!**

Azula walked over to her bed to sit and gaze at the outside world like she had done so many times before.

"Where do you think you're going?" Toph growled. She pounded on the metal floor with her fist twice. She then unclenched her fingers and pressed the tips against the floor as a vibration went through the floor. As the vibration reached Azula's feet, Toph squeezed her fingers together. A square foot of metal in front of her right foot jumped up out of the floor, engulfed her foot, then became one with the floor again. Not more than one second later did the same thing happen to her left foot.

Her hand still making contact with the floor, Toph pressed her palm flat against it, then pulled it back sharply so only the part next to her wrist was touching the floor. The metal shifted according to Toph's hand, forcing Azula to land heavily on her back. A small smirk crept across Toph's face.

"Why you little…" Azula propped herself up with her right arm, twisted around so she could face Toph without looking at her upside down, then shot a mighty fire blast at her with left fist.

Toph quickly pulled many of the rocks around her and formed a shield in front of her, making the blue flame pass around her harmlessly. While having the shield float in front of her with her hands, she pounded away many metal bending moves with her heels. A strip of metal snaked up from the floor, tightened around Azula's right arm, then pulled it down to the ground, forcing her to fall back onto her back. Since her left arm was resting on her chest, a ball of metal formed around her wrist, which was trying to dodge it and repel it with several small fireblasts. It quickly pulled her wrist back onto the floor, restricting any movement in Azula's limbs. She opened her mouth to allow a great breath of fire in her frustration, but Toph was a step ahead of her. A strip of metal soon covered her mouth and restricted any neck movement as well.

Toph slowly got up from her seat, returned the rocks in her shield to their original spot, then slowly walked past Azula to a table that conveniently had a pitcher of mango and strawberry juice and a few cups. After pouring herself some of it, she walked back over to the pond. After a huge gulp and a steady sigh, she announced, "Finally, some peace and quiet." Azula gave a scream of rage, but after that, remained silent. Toph sipped on her drink and twirled her fingers in the pond, ignoring Azula, who was wriggling against her bonds.

Once she took the last gulp, Toph pounded her bare heel against the floor, and the metal covering Azula's mouth became one with the floor once again. "Okay, fire fingers, I'm not one who holds grudges against people (unless they burn my feet), but you are one wacked out cookie. I mean, do you even realize how horrible you and your father were? I was helping rebuild the Earth Kingdom before Teaman dragged me here so I could babysit a princess who is rotten to the core. Even though the Earth Kingdom has me, the greatest earthbender ever, to help them, it'll take decades to repair what your nation did to us! Personally, I don't find it much fun to rebuild houses and walls until I'm a little old lady."

Azula glared at the ceiling for a few minutes, then finally said, "Who the hell are you?"

Toph scowled, though not at any general direction. "Really, now you're going to pull this amnesia crap on me also? Does this ring a bell? _'Since __you __can't __see,__ I'll__ tell __you __that __I'm __rolling__ my __eyes.'_ or my personal favorite _'I'm__ a __four__ hundred__ foot __tall __purple__ platypus__bear__ with __pink__ horns__ and__ silver__ wings.'_ "

Azula's eye widened. A stream of memories rushed into her head, like a dam on a great river had suddenly been smashed open, creating a sudden cascade of water onto a dry riverbed. "You? My uncle brought _you_ to keep me 'company'? One would think that the only people who can be put on my visitors list is traitors who sided with the avatar!" A puff of flames exploded from her nostrils.

Toph's scowl grew deeper. "Say _traitor_ one more time, fire fingers, and you'll be hurtling out the window with your hands and feet encased in metal. We'll see how well you can fly then."

Azula smirked. Getting out of this place was number one on her agenda, and this sweet little earthbender had just offered her the opportunity. "And who could possibly do that? You? A fragile little earthbending girl like you? You kind wallows in their own filth, manages to throw it a couple extra feet as a supposed 'weapon', and then has the nerve to actually call it bending. You are a traitor to the Fire Nation, and are too stupid to realize that fire is the superior element, and soon it will once again RULE!"

The metal around her immobilized body creaked with strain as Toph struggled to separate it from the rest of the floor. With a sudden screech from the metal, it ripped from the floor and sent Azula flying up fifteen feet in the air. She prepared to throw Azula through her huge window, when there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Bei Fong? Is everything alright in there?" A muffled voice of a nurse sounded from the other side of the door. Toph silently swore and quickly lowered the metal to the ground, patched it together, and released Azula from her cuffs all before the nurse opened the door.

"Um, yes, we were just… settling our differences. Everything's fine now, though." Toph said innocently. The nurse smiled and nodded, then left the room.

Instead of attacking the Bei Fong girl, Azula smirked and folded her arms. "So I see you're good at playing little miss goody goody."

Toph shrugged and replied, "Well, it's pretty easy with years of practice when I lived with my parents and needed to act like a scared, witless girl in front of them when I'm actually kicking people's butts in my spare time."

Azula smiled and sat down on her bed. _Finally, __someone__ who's__ somewhat __decent_. "And the guards at your house always believed you?"

"Of course. Sometimes I'd sneak back in my house after a fight and be covered in scratches and bits of mud and dirt and they'd always believe me when I said that I had 'tripped on a stupid root and fell'. They were major morons; I can't even believe my parents actually hired them. They'd probably think that a burglar was just one of our pet lemurdogs." She muttered with a hint of contempt.

"I know, I think that being a bumbling fool is part of their job description. I banished pretty much all of them on my coronation day, then Lo and Li came into the throne room and acted surprised that I'd actually did that!"

"Didn't you also banish all those Dai Lee agents and Imperial Firebenders also?"

"Yeah, so? They most likely would have betrayed me and taken Zuzu's side once he came."

"Orrr, they would have sided with you and Zuko and Katara would have never had beaten you and you would be Firelord."

Memories of her Agni Kai flooded back into her. She glowered and a fire came into her eyes as she relived her past. The idea hadn't occurred to her before, and now thinking of having her brother and the Peasant tied in chains instead of her made her furious. It was the biggest mistake she had made in her life, and the filthy little girl had the nerve to bring it up. She clenched her fists, then went flying up in the air with her fire rockets.

She screamed with rage as she shot multiple fire blasts at the girl, who could now not see her because she was up in the air.

Without hesitation, Toph hit the floor and pulled metal up over her body, creating an armored suit that would protect her somewhat from the flames that now engulfed her. She raised a rock about the size of her head and fired little pellets of the earth towards the sound of Azula's rockets, hoping to stun the princess, but every piece that went towards her was turned to ash from her blue flames.

"HIII-YA!" Azula formed a whip in her right hand while she used her left to stabilize herself and keep herself at a constant height. She managed to wrap the whip around both of Toph's ankles and pull her off of her feet, leaving her momentarily stunned on the floor.

"LET'S SEE HOW WELL YOUR SUIT DEFLECTS **LIGHTNING**!" Azula cackled madly as she landed on the side of her fountain and prepared to strike at Toph, who was still down. Unaware of the now open door, Azula took her shot and watched it near the girl, who was on the opposite side of the room, with maniacal glee.

A person stepped in front of the lightning, pulled it in with one arm, then sent it hurtling towards the ceiling with the other. Once the bright blue light was gone, the identity of the mysterious person was revealed to be none other than the Avatar himself. The filthy peasant stood in the doorway, prepared to bend water from the pond if necessary.

The Bei Fong girl bent the metal off of her and stood up behind the avatar, apparently upset that he had to save her.

"You can burn your hair as much as you want to," he growled "but you don't _ever_ try to harm my friends."

**Check out this awesome Zuko vid! It's SOOO FUNNY! XD go-devil-dante. deviantart. com/art/Avatar-Zuko-the-fire-lord-58128768 (no spaces :d)  
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	10. Escape

**Amy Whitespot- thanks for your review! :3 (and yes, over 1,000 hits for this story just in the past month and only your review! *cries*)**

The Avatar leaned over and whispered something into Toph's ear, who smirked, then nodded.

"Great idea, Twinkletoes." She cracked her knuckles, stretched her fingers, then stamped the floor once. A ball of metal the size of her fist sprang up into the air and hovered in front of her face. She pulled her clasped hands apart, causing the metal to separate into two pieces. With intricate, but forceful, moves from her hands, she sculpted two gloves that would reach someone's elbow. She created them so they would bend at each joint, but were otherwise seamless. With another stamp, she produced a hunk of metal twice the size of her previous ball. The arm part of the glove was thickened and now the gloves were attached by a one foot long quarter inch chain.

Azula glared venomously at the metalbender and the avatar. She knew that resistance would be futile, but she would not go down without a fight. She waited patiently for the proper time to attack. Timing was everything, and with a bit of luck, her plan might just get her out of the window and outside. As Aang and Toph neared her with those horrible gloves that she was certain they weren't going to put on Peasant, her muscles tensed, preparing to spring into action.

"Dragon of the West, eat your heart out!" Azula opened her mouth as wide as she could and blue flame billowed out of it at breakneck speed. Aang defended himself and Toph by splitting the flame so it passed by harmlessly on either side, but while he was occupied, Azula took off into the air and flew towards the window, then hovered in front of it. "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME!" She cackled.

"Maybe I don't have to!" Toph broke off part of the grate that was on the window and sent it hurtling towards Azula, who easily evaded it. Toph broke off more and more in attempt to hit Azula with the pieces, but it was in vain. Meanwhile, the Avatar worked with Peasant to bend water from the waterfall, but not grab any of the koi fish. She slowed their work by shooting more fire from her mouth, evaporating most of the water they had pulled out. Soon, after fifteen pieces of the metal grate was broken off, there was a space big enough for the Fire Nation princess to fit through comfortably. She snatched one of the hurtling pieces out of the air, then threw it at the window, shattering the glass. The three benders behind her paled when they realized what they had done. _I don't see what's so surprising; I always manage to outwit those fools whenever we encounter each other._

"Well I'd really love to stay and chat, but it's getting late and I really must be going!" Azula smirked, then spun around once again and shot out of the building and was soon high in the sky and her silhouette quickly getting smaller.

Aang facepalmed himself. "Ugh! We're such idiots!"

"You said it. I can't believe I fell for that trick." Toph blew her bangs out of her face.

Katara smacked him with her water whip, receiving a look that was half puzzled and half irritated. "Well, are you just gonna stand there and gape at what just happened or go and fly after _the Fire Nation princess who could probably destroy the whole city in thirty minutes if she wanted to_?"

Aang sighed and grabbed his glider, which was sitting outside the doorway. He ran towards the window, and with help from his airbending, he jumped through the hole high up in the window and sped through the sky in pursuit of Azula, who was now a black speck in the sky.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Azula breathed in the good fresh air as she sped towards the market place. Her two inches of hair fluttered in the wind. _What a pathetic excuse for what I once so proudly had._

"You didn't have to do that, you know." The familiar, perky voice of Zaiyana sounded next to her, causing the princess to nearly lose "balance" with her flying and fall from the sky. Her head snapped over to where the voice was coming from. Zaiyana was cheerfully flying alongside her without any assistance.

"Do what?"

"Attack them and act all grumpy and mean. They're just trying to help you."

"I'm sure."

"Stop denying what is true! You need help from other people right now, Azula, and all you're doing is digging the hole deeper and will sooner or later have to face punishment for that, so instead of healing and becoming a new, better person, you'll just hide deeper within yourself and allow them to come out!"

"Thank you, but I don't need any advice from Dr. Zhil."

"Don't you get it? They want to possess you so they can get revenge!"

"Aren't you possessing my body right now?"

"No, because I don't want to harm you, because I forgive you, Azula, but they do not. They want to see you miserable and locked up in one of those creepy white cells for the rest of your life."

"And when you say 'they', do you mean both Zuzani and…" Her voice trailed off as Zaiyana nodded. When Azula had informed Zuko of the three girls, she had lied about Za Yai. She wasn't a coward, she was, in fact, quite the opposite. She was the only firebending competition that Azula had ever had, and she had to murder her in cold blood when a mission went bad and she still needed to get to the original target that her father had ordered her to assassinate three years ago.

"She wants to use you to bring down the brand new infrastructure in the Fire Nation, and take down your family. If she gains enough power, she will take over your body and do whatever she can to destroy a world that is just starting to recover from the scars of war. I know you won't listen to my advice on going back to the asylum, but at least be wise in your actions." With that, Zaiyana dissolved into the air.

Azula rolled her eyes and muttered something, but continued to fly towards the palace prison. Uncle had mentioned something about the resistance, and her father most likely knew how to find them.

Once she landed behind the prison, she tore off a piece of cloth from her loose fitted red clothing and put her hair up into a Fire Nation style bun, which took her about ten minutes to get it looking decent, and even then some of the hair next to her neck wasn't tied with the rest. Now for the easy part: getting past the guards.

Instead of trying a stealth tactic, she blasted herself over the prison and landed in the yard in the front and was immediately greeted by five surprised guards. They quickly got over their initial shock and attacked her by surrounding her and simultaneously released a long fire blast. Azula blocked them by raising a wall of fire all around her, then attacked by pushing the wall outwards until it finally overtook the guards and knocked them off of their feet.

A loud alarm started clanging in the prison and the only door was slowly dropping to the ground. Without hesitation, she sprinted towards the door and slid under it right before it was low enough to crush her. On the other side, there were ten guards waiting for her. Each of their attacks she either dodged or blocked. _I don't have time to waste on dueling each of them with fire._ She fanned out her fingers instead of keeping the middle and index together, and allowed the lightning to build up strength on her fingertips for a moment, then flipped her hands so the palms were facing upwards and shot lightning out at the guards, hitting all but one.

She released a look of rage as a reaction to her imperfect shot. _After a year of being stuck in prison and having no practice, I have become extremely sloppy. This is unacceptable._ She glared at the last guard with pure hate as he nervously stood his ground. He release another blast of fire from his fist, but the princess was a step ahead of him. Her foot kicked his arm upwards, causing the flame to harmlessly pass overhead, then kicked him again, this time with fire coming from her foot, and hit him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Once he hit the floor, he lay there motionless.

Azula sprinted down the hallway, now unsure where to find her father. _I'm sure that the next guard I find will gladly be of assistance._ Three shadows appeared on the other side of the curved hallway. Azula stealthily leaped to the inside wall and pressed her body against it, hoping that the guards had not noticed her own shadow, which they did not. As soon as they were within range, Azula formed a fire sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, jumped from her hiding spot, and attacked the unsuspecting guards.

It was hardly a two sided battle. The Fire Nation princess took out the first two guards with a few quick slashes at them, then held the third up against the wall and held her fire sword up to his neck threateningly. "Tell me where they are keeping Ozai, or else I will grant you the knowledge of what it feels like to be burned alive!"

The guard gulped, but remained silent. Azula removed her sword and blasted one of the unconscious guards, giving him second and third degree burns. She ignited the palm of her hand and held it up to the guard's face. "I will ask you once again: which cell is the former Fire Lord being held in?"

"He's on the fifth cell on the left and on the second to top floor of the building!"

"Thank you." Azula said with mock gratitude. She pulled the helmet off of the guard's head, dropped it, and slammed his head against the metal wall, knocking him out cold.

It took awhile to get to the floor her father was on, and by the sound of the guards approaching the prison yard far below, she didn't have much time. She ran down the hall until she arrived at the fifth cell on the left, then peered in to make sure that her father was inside before trying to break in. He was, but there were also two guards inside, and they appeared to be better fighters than the guards she had previously came across. _Just because they look to be more challenging than the other guards doesn't mean that they will actually be a challenge._ Azula reassured herself. She created a fire dagger in her hand, then worked for the next minutes on concentrating the power of the dagger until it was strong enough to do what she needed it to do. She jabbed at the lock on the door, shoving her entire dagger though the two inch thick metal, shredded the entire lock area, pulled her dagger out, and kicked the door open.

The guards were standing ready for her. They evaded each of her fire attacks and managed to occasionally blast their own fire at her. _They will manage to dodge or block anything normal or expected from a firebender. Zuzu probably taught them how to redirect lightning in case this would ever happen, so I doubt that will work._ She glanced at her father's cell, and the bars on the top suddenly gave her an idea. Once she had managed to get past the guards defenses and have them be occupied with trying to get the flames off of their uniforms, she flew overhead and landed on the bars on top of her father's cell. While balancing on a pair of bars, she created a highly concentrated fire sword and slashed about four feet of the bar, then made a duplicate with the one right next to it. Ozai grabbed the two bars before they clattered to the ground, then tossed them up to his daughter, who caught them and did a flip off of the top of the cell and landed next to the two guards, who had just finished removing any of the fire that was on them.

They drew their weapons, ready for the sword fight that they thought was coming, but instead, Azula sent fire from the tips of her bars, distracting the guards, then ignited the bars and threw them at each of the guards' heads and knocked them to the ground, now unconscious.

"Azula-"

"There's hardly any time. They'll almost be up here, and the avatar will probably with them. We have to jump out of the window and fly into the woods if we want to escape." Azula slashed open the cell and Ozai promptly got out of it.

"I can't… The avatar… He took away my firebending."

**:O what will happen next? Please review!**


	11. Resistance

**Ahhh! Sorry that I've been gone for so long! :( I've had this chapter done (except for minor editing) for over two months, but totally forgot that I did, so sorry! :/ **

**Also, for those who are reading Freaky Fireday, I didn't forget about that story either! I've written three different versions of chapter three, but I didn't like any of them! I'm gonna start working on the fourth version (which I like the most) probably tomorrow or Wednesday, so I'll have it done soon since Spring Break starts for me on Thursday, squee! :'D Anyway, enjoy! :3**

"WHAT?" _I just wasted all this time on a useless non-bender. Even though he _is_ my father, I shouldn't have come here. I could've found someone else who knew where to find the resistance._ "Well come on! We have to jump if we don't want this to be for nothing." She grabbed her father by his arm and managed to propel them up on top of the cell, then cut through the metal bars covering the window with her fire daggers. She climbed out onto the ledge, then grabbed her father's hand once he was outside, then jumped off of the building and immediately had all of her free limbs firebend rockets so their descent would be far slower so they would not have to face the hinderance of broken bones.

"The avatar!" Ozai pointed to an outline that was quickly nearing. Azula swore and stopped firebending so they would drop from the last two stories more quickly. Ignoring the sharp pain that shot through her legs as soon as she landed on the rough volcanic rock, she grabbed her father's arm and struggled to pull him up. _Prison has really weakened him._

"Come _on_! We have to get into the forest if we want a chance to escape!" Azula pulled at her father's wrist urgently. Ozai struggled to his feet, and the two sprinted towards the forest edge, now a hundred yards away and quickly nearing. _We're not going to outrun him_. Instead of slowing so she could surrender and possibly get a less horrible punishment, Azula released her father's arm and created rockets behind her hands and feet, doubling her speed, and leaving her father far behind her. Still, even with her boost, the avatar's shadow was now in front of her.

Aang landed landed lightly on his feet about fifty yards in front of the two once-royals and twirled his glider shut. "Stop! You know that since I can now access the avatar state easily, you will be beaten. If you surrender now, you won't be punished."

Azula stopped once she was just barely far away enough to easily dodge any of the Avatar's potential attacks. "Oh really? _I_ need to surrender? Telling me you can access your avatar state is hardly a threat, because it would just give me an opportunity to create a scar in you front to match the one in the back!"

"Your taunts may work easily on others, but you can't upset me to the point of having impaired fighting." Aang replied with a calm demeanor, but the way his hand tightened its grip on the glider may have suggested otherwise.

"So you're just going to stay here and wait until you've spent precious time trying to defeat me and make me a prisoner once again? For a boy who everyone claims to have great intelligence, that is a fairly foolish move."

"Why?" Aang asked in a unbelieving tone.

"Why should I tell you, oh great avatar?" She replied with mock admiration. "Why don't you just use your 'all-powerful' avatar state so you can discover another big mistake that you have made?"

Aang glared at her, but no greater reaction was aroused.

"So, you're just going to stand by and keep an eye on me instead of saving your precious friends from being abducted? I'm truly touched by how much you care about me."

"How could you hurt them? You're all the way over here, while they're still at the asylum!"

Azula shot her arms in the air and released a huge puff of blue flame from both fists, creating a huge v-shaped beacon that could be seen from anywhere in the capital. Aang's eyes widened at his mistake and took a step backwards.

"You're cooperation is highly appreciated, avatar. I'll be on my way now, but don't worry, I'll make sure to send you a thank you card as soon as I can." Azula and her father started to walk towards the forest once more, as if Aang wasn't even a threat anymore. Their stroll was immediately halted when Aang angrily bended the black rock until it enveloped everything but their necks and heads.

"What did you just signal?" Aang demanded as he pointed his glider towards Azula threateningly.

"How do you know I signaled anything?" She questioned.

"Because I have enough experience from the past that you don't just do anything without a reason! Now tell me what you did!"

"Are you sure? I just escaped from a high security asylum an hour ago, and my father has been out of prison for even less time than I have. Do you honestly think we could have planned something so major that it will endanger the safety of your friends?"

"Long Feng overthrew the generals in his cell at Ba Sing Se, why should I not believe that you created a trap for me and my friends while you were in yours?"

Azula stood frozen in place with smug silence, clearly pleased with the avatar's reaction.

"Unless you want to know what it feels like to be buried alive, I suggest that you tell me what you ordered your followers to do _NOW_!" Aang's eyes blazed with fury, as if flames were leaking from his pupils and had caught fire to his deep grey irises.

"Several resistance members will ambush them, block their chi, and cover them with wooden restraints. By this time now, the job is probably done and they've been taken to a hidden room in the network under the city. It's too far below us to find with earthbending, so you will never see them again unless you release me and my father right this instant." Azula replied with disinterest.

The fire in Aang's eyes grew hotter, but other emotions were now mixed in. _And now to go in for the kill._

"Think of it, Aang," Azula added with a sympathetic and caring tone "Katara and Toph, two of your best friends and element teachers, _gone forever_. All because you refused to release two lowly prisoners of war that only wanted freedom, and nothing more. That kiss your shared with Katara on the way to 'visit' me… your last one. And no more sarcastic comments from Toph, either. No loving hugs, no more bonding…" Aang looked away and Azula smirked as she added. "She was crazy about you, I could tell the moment she walked into my room. But now, since you refuse to release us… You could never have those children that Aunt Wu talked about." It may have sounded stalkerish to say that, but she saw _The Boy in the Iceburg_, and the play writers definitely did their homework.

The rocks around Azula and Ozai crumbled, turned to ash, and blew away in the gentle breeze. The two started to circumference Aang and walk towards the forest that was so near, but the rock underneath swallowed them until only their heads peeked out. They shot up at least fifty feet into the air, and the avatar, his tattoos and eyes now glowing, floated up until he was face to face with Azula.

"_Where are they?_" His distorted voice filled the princess with a near-paralyzing fear.

"Our agreement?" Azula tried to maintain a steady tone.

"Tell me where they are _NOW_!" The rock around her tightened.

"A hundred feet underneath the asylum, there's a path right in the middle of two lakes of lava. Go in the northern direction until there's a hole that you slide down and then go down that path until you reach the fifth door on the right. There's a huge opening and your friends will be in the rooms that are on the opposite sides!" Not able to look away from his face, she closed her eyes. The rock loosened around her, so she opened her eyes only to realized that the avatar was now far away. The distant shouting of guards meant only one thing; they were coming to retrieve the prisoners.

"Did you really plan out all of that?" Ozai asked incredulously.

"No, I lied, and the avatar is obviously as gullible as his friends. Now how do we get out of this mess?" She tried in vain to break free from the rock by moving her body around. The nearing voices of the guards meant that she had very little time to figure out a way to escape from her bonds. _How about I try to burn my way out?_ She tried to crane her neck to breathe fire on the rock, but to no avail. _Maybe if I start melting from the inside…_ Azula released a strong of a heat as she could from her hands, hoping to get some kind of decent result from this attempt to escape.

"EAUGH!" She hissed, then bit her lip until blood swelled as her hands were burned from the heated rock. The guards were now outside of the prison and closing the distance between them. _I'm not going back there in that hell where I'm mocked by the avatar and his friend day in and day out…_ She tried to bend lightning into the rock to destroy it, but that too failed.

The guards were almost upon them. Ozai glanced over at his daughter with a look of desperation. He had no ideas on how to escape, and neither did she.

"Where are they hiding?" Azula demanded.

"Who?"

"The resistance! I know that members have come in secret to talk to you!"

"Well, uh… They didn't tell me exatly where they were hiding because they had to speak in code, but the clue they gave me was, uh…" He frowned, trying to remember the words.

"Well? I need to know _now_!" The guards started to circle around to two rock pillars.

"Turtleducklings always love to be hand fed bread."

"_What?_" She hissed. The rocks they were in were dropped to the ground by some of the earthbending guards. The rocks were removed, except for an inch thick connected barrier around Azula's hands and feet, and handcuffs on Ozai.

"There is nowhere to go, except for the asylum, princess. You might have gotten far on your escape plan, but this is the end of the line for you and your father." The head guard barked with a gruff, raspy voice.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Aang landed heavily in the asylum's courtyard and struck the ground with his glider, creating a deep hole in the earth.

"Woah, woah, woah. Where do you think you're going, Twinkletoes?" Toph and Katara sprinted from the garden towards him.

"Yeah, and where's Azula?"

"She and her father are trapped in rock and some guards are taking care of them while we speak. I guess she was wrong about you two being hopelessly outmatched by the people she sent after you."

"Wait… What people?" Toph asked.

"Yeah, we've been sitting around waiting for you." Katara added.

Aang paled. "She lied to me… again. Ugh, why am I such an idiot?" He sent out a huge blast of air from his glider. Toph and Katara covered their faces to stop the whirlwind from getting dirt caught in their eyes.

"So, you're saying she told you that she had sent men to capture us… _and you believed her_?" Toph accused.

"You know the way she is! She did it all sneaky like so anyone would believe her!"

"Well, we better go over to where she is and make sure that they don't manage to escape."

"They're at the prison, let's go." Aang twirled open his glider and took off.

"Yeah, I guess we should _fly after him_ now." Toph replied sarcastically.

"Well, Appa's nearby, so we can take him." As if on cue, Appa landed on the ground next to the two. "Let's go."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"See guys? Just like I told you. Azula and Ozai are now prisoners once again." Aang folded his arms and smiled.

"That's strange… It could be a trick by Azula."

"How can it be a trick? Her hands and feet are bound together!" Toph rolled her eyes.

Aang walked up to Azula, who was being dragged by her arms. She looked up at Aang and gave him a twisted smile. "You haven't beaten me." She growled.

"What do you me- AUGH!" Fire sprayed his face and ignited his clothes. Azula flipped and kicked the guard who was holding her in the back of the head. Since he was the one who had restrained her with rocks originally, the cuffs on her and Ozai broke apart easily.

"You little…" Toph turned the earth from her to Azula into quicksand, but the princess dodged her strike and blasted fire at the two girls, who defended themselves with surrounding elements easily. The setting sun cast long shadows as the princess tried desperately to defeat the guards and the avatar's group before it set.

After getting a break in the crowd of attackers, she fled towards the trees, only for the nearest two to turn into water and blast her onto the ground. The water surrounding her turned to ice and restrained her body. Katara, who was standing a few feet away from Azula, smiled as she returned back to her normal stance.

The sun was now almost under the horizon. _"Come on Azula! All you have to do is break free from the ice before the sun sets!"_ Zaiyana cheered.

"HRRR-AH!" The ice shattered as soon as she blasted it and jumped out of her containment. Taking her opponents by surprise, she twisted out two long fire ropes and lashed at them, forcing them to keep their distance. She slowly backed towards the forest as she held her whips threateningly. "Anyone who bends at me or makes any move at all will get a melted face!"

The group stood where the were, unsure how to respond. Aang glanced behind him, noticing the full moon that was now rising into the sky. "Katara, the moon!" He hissed.

Katara looked at Aang, shocked that he of all people would suggest her to bloodbend. "Aang…" tears welled up. Every time she bloodbended, she never felt so alive, but she also never felt so terrible and monstrous. The look that each person gave her when she bended their blood was the same- a plead that she would stop and have mercy. Each person thought he was going to die… Each person probably had wished he had. Azula was about to escape, though, and who knows what she would do as soon as she's free. Katara sighed in defeat and shot her hands out and twisted them.

Azula glared at Katara. She lashed out her ropes towards her. "Fool of a peas-AH!" The air left her voice as she gasped. The fire dissolved into the air when her arms stopped in mid-slice. "What's happening to me?" She looked at Katara, genuinely terrified. She struggled against her own body, trying to regain control. Katara smiled as her eyes glinted with anger and bloodthirst. She forced Azula to march towards her, then brought her to her knees and forced her to look her in the eye.

"Please don't hurt me." She whispered as she began to hyperventilate.

"Are you going to try to escape?"

"No…"

"Will you attack the guards or nurses?"

"No."

"Will you attack Aang, Toph, or me?"

"No!"

"Will you attack Iroh or Zuko?"

Azula glared at Katara venomously, only for Katara to tighten her grip on her. "No! NO! Please, just let me go!" Azula sobbed. A moment later, she received her wish and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. The guards collected the princess and marched off while the three stayed behind. Katara stared at the moon, a tear broke off from the film that pooled at her eyes and dropped from her chin onto the ground. Aang wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.

Toph considered giving her an affectionate dead-arm, but thought better of it


End file.
